A Father's Perspective
by Neph Champion
Summary: Minato never thought that he'd meet his son before he was even born, but he is glad he did. These are his thoughts and feelings during the one mission that he wishes to never forget but knows that he must.


Idea: This is the fourth Shippuden Movie from Minato's point of view, with my own little fanon twist to it.

Summery: Minato's thoughts and feelings throughout the Movie.

Disclaimer: You think I own it? Yeah right, that's funny, last I checked, I wasn't male and I don't live in Japan.

(The Lost Tower)

I knew that this mission would be different, the moment Sandaime-sama called myself, Shibi-kun and Chouza-kun to his office to give us the mission, I just knew. There was this feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me that this mission would be so much more.

The moment we are able to see Rouran, I can sense you, and your chakra is so bright; it's… hard to describe, it's like a star almost; like my Vixen's. Every time you chakra spikes so does mine. But my team: Chouza-kun, Shibi-kun and Kakashi-kit don't seem to notice. At first I pay it no mind because the spikes are so small and far apart, as if you are merely using your chakra to move, to explore.

Once we reach the limits of Rouran however, the spikes in your chakra suddenly grow closer together, as if you are in a fight. I want to send a Fox [1] in advance, but that would bring unwanted attention to us both. I've worked too hard to let that happen, nowadays; they remember me as the Konoha no Kiiroi Senko not, Namikaze Minato of the Demon Fox Clan [2] and it's better that way.

When I find you in mortal danger in that basement, I can't help but berate myself for not sending a Fox to you, you'd have been so much safer, but, that's done and so instead I Flash in, grab you and then Flash back out. I feel bad as I bandage your leg, knowing that if I'd sent a Fox ahead that you wouldn't be this injured. I scold myself silently again. I do not know however, if I should fix that. I leave you after telling you to leave and giving you directions.

But, you couldn't leave could you? Even if it was to protect yourself. I have to stop myself from sighing when I see you there, sitting with the Queen. And then you are so bold as to attack us, thinking that we mean her harm. You look so much like her, like my Vixen you act like her too. I know, you are hers, have her eye shape and personality. Her will to succeed. Yet you look like me.

You must be mine. You _are_ mine.

I see your eyes widen in shock when I take off my mask. And I have to stop you before you can reveal too much of the future. I don't want you to get my hopes up. I can see that you don't know me. Not personally, I can see underneath that curiosity of yours, cleverly hidden to most; but you can't hide your feelings from me, a twinge of resentment.

This can only mean one thing: not only am _I_ gone, she is gone too. For if she wasn't gone then you would know me, and I wouldn't see resentment in your eyes, only curiosity and excitement. It's a scary thought, knowing that you are alone, that we both die before you are old enough to remember us.

You aren't what I would have pictured, I see that you are a bit dense, (but not stupid, never could you be stupid, you are _my_ kit [3] after all) but with me standing before you with no mask to hide my features, you will, eventually, come to the conclusion that I already have. That I am your father; I know that it is only a matter of time before you realize this, before you try to ask that question, that question that I won't be able to answer, no matter how much I want too.

You seem despondent almost, when I tell you to look after the queen while my team and I search for your target. But it can't be helped; you only know the ruins of Rouran, not the city, so it is better that you stick with the queen. I am, again, tempted to summon a fox to protect you but I can't, I shouldn't. Even if it is what I _should_ have done, it is better not to bring that attention down on us, my _flee on sight_ order would protect me from our clan's enemies, but it wouldn't protect _you_. If anything happened to you, especially since this will probably be the only time I have with you; I don't think I would be able to forgive myself. My Vixen would never forgive me either. It doesn't help that you are a time traveler, and I will have to erase you from my memory, and myself from yours, I don't _want_ to.

Before leaving you alone with the queen, I give you one of my Hiraishin Kunai, so that I can get to you the second you need me. I want you to keep it, though in the end you probably won't.  
>The next time I see you, you are fighting Mukade for your life. Watching you become trapped in that puppet and watching you use Kyuubi-sama's chakra scares me. It means that my Vixen's death, <em>my<em> death, is going to be traumatic, because removing Kyuubi from his container without his Mate there to donate chakra kills the container, and I would never remove Kyuubi-sama from my Vixen. And the next container has to be a child, the younger the better.

I have to steer my thoughts away from that quickly. That is something I refuse to think about. I do however, allow myself to admire how well you use his chakra. He must like you to allow you to use so much of his power. I am proud and pleased that you are so powerful. I send Kakashi-kit in to help you, watching you use his distraction to get the queen and the kidnapped people away from Mukade is amazing.

Then, when we find out that Mukade is a puppet, my fears are realized, I save you again, but there's not much we can do. We leave Shibi and Chouza the delay Mukade so that we can keep him away from the people of Rouran. I decide that it is better to stay with you, to protect you. There is no reason to broadcast the fact that we are the last of the Demon Fox Clan. And if I am with you, then there will be no need to summon a Fox, I don't even think you know of your heritage. Maybe that is for the best, although it pains me to think that you will never know Kybi-sama, and there is no way I'm asking for the circumstances of Kyuubi-sama's exchange of containers…

Once we get to the main square, Mukade catches up to us, and there is nowhere else to go. But then Queen Sara tells us all of one last, safe place, the gardens under the city. Did she really have to ruin her dress? …Never mind, that's not important.

You and I bring up the rear of the group, to protect them from Mukade. I watch is partial awe and fear as you use the Kage Bunshin so easily, it must Kyuubi-sama's influence, but watching you fight him terrifies me, I have to save you yet again. I decide that enough was enough and sent you forward to protect them while I fight Mukade, I do it because I don't want you getting hurt anymore.

But I know that I can't keep you out of the fight for long. I was never able to keep your mother, my Vixen out of battles either. When I see you create my Rasengan (I don't _care_ if you needed the aide of a clone) I feel a burst of surprise and pride, that's my kit! I can't stop the internal smile, but it doesn't reach my lips, and I lament the fact that your mother can't be here to also see you.

Watching you fight him again scares me, but when I hear a strange new sound I have to wonder, I have been trying to incorporate my wind chakra into the Rasengan for nearly a year and I haven't succeeded, have you completed my work? I can't get close enough to see, but part of me is sure that you have.

I sigh in exasperation as I run into the next room into which you were flung by Mukade's tail. You just love to scare me don't you, and I have to save you from him again, but I don't mind.

I smile at you for the first time when you tell me that only the Yondaime can do the Rasengan and reassure you that I _can_ do it. I will admit that combining our chakra together makes me worry, but I need not have. If I'd had any doubts before, once we hold the new Rasengan between us, they would be put to rest. This Rasengan is unstable because it is made of our combined chakra, and mine could rebel against you, but someone does have to open up his weak point, which I found not too long ago.

Watching you with our combined Rasengan when you destroy Mukade is amazing and I feel proud of you all over again. Unfortunately, what's left of him falls into the Ryuumiaku, causing it to become unstable. It pains me, but I take the kunai that I gave you and seal the Ryuumiaku off, realizing as I do, that it was _because_ I used the kunai that you are here.

As I ready the jutsu that will erase our memories of each other, I can see the desperation in your eyes as you finally begin to ask the very question I have been dreading since I took my mask off. I interrupt, knowing that you won't have time to ask once I do so.

I love you. my Naruto… don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise, is what I want to say, but I will settle for this:

Love you…

(End One-shot)

I started this not long after I watched the movie for the… fifth time? Yeah, that sounds right. And let me tell you, getting into Minato's head was _not_ easy. My fluff muse, (yes he _is_ my fluff muse) fought me for a long time. He finally gave in.

I figured that I'd start a bit differently, with it starting in Konoha and going on the mission, I didn't include the piece with Jiraiya because it wasn't important, as much as I like the guy.

Footnotes:

[1] I doubt we know of every single contract in the Narutoverse, this is my creation, and who says that there can't actually be one? Here it's a family contract.

[2] In my fanon, Minato's clan is called the Fox Demon Clan, because of their close relations with the fox summons family, who are headed by Kyuubi (who, by a contract between the Namikaze Clan and the Uzumaki Clan) is sealed into both Kushina and Naruto because he's in the past. They are like the Inuzuka clan, only more extreme, they have to hide their features because they have become so animalistic. Here, Minato is worried about Naruto because their clan has a _kill on sight_ order attached to it, Minato's personal _flee on sight_ order would counteract that. They were given the _kill on sight_ because of how devastating a Namikaze and their fox partner were together in battle, the logic is kill the Namikaze before they have time to summon a fox.

Like the Inuzuka, the Namikaze use slang, and the slang has to do with verbal habits and tics. Kakashi-kit is what Minato calls Kakashi; it has to do with how close the two are. Not sure how old Kakashi is here, but looks nearly the same in Gaiden, so it has to be around then, either before or after, not sure which.

Minato calls Kushina 'His Vixen' Vixen is the word for female fox and 'Todd' is a male fox. It's what Namikaze call their husband/boyfriend and wife/girlfriend.

[3] Kit is what a young fox is called; here it is slang for the Namikaze children. And I have a hard time believing that Naruto is stupid, dense and a bit slow on the uptake and engaging his mind maybe, but stupid? With _Minato_; a proclaimed genius of his generation as his father? I can't wrap my head around that. After all, this was the kid that learned a _Jounin level_ jutsu in several hours, from a _scroll_. And on top of that it's doubtful that he could even _read_. And I never got the impression that Kushina was stupid either…

I hope I was able to explain everything… PM me if you have any more questions and I will try to answer them as best as I can. Sorry if it's a bit shorter than the usual stuff that I get out these days. Merry Christmas~!

Remember to review~!

Neph


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